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Drugs and Society- Chapter 2

Terms in this set (62)

Five ways drugs get administrated?
1. Inhalation
2. Injection
3. Mucous membrane absorption
4. Orally
5. Contact
Inhalation Administration
Heat is used to vaporize the drug and it is absorbed into the blood via the capillaries of the lung air sacs (fastest onset, drug begins to appear in brain in 7-10 sec).
Injecting Administration
the drug is put directly into the body with a needle, Intravenous, into vein, (onset in 15-30 sec) Intramuscular, into muscle mass, (onset in 3-5 min) Subcutaneous, under the skin, (onset 3-5 min)
Mucous membrane absorption
The drug dissolves in liquid secreted by membranes and is absorbed by local capillaries.
Types of mucous membrane absorption
1. Insufflation: mucous membranes of nasal passages (onset 30-60 sec)
2. Sublingual: under the tongue (onset 3-5 min)
3. Buccally: between gums and cheek (onset 3-5 min)
Oral Administration
Drugs are absorbed into the blood via capillaries lining the small intestine
Contact Administration
Skin patches such as those containing nicotine release set quantities for up to 7 days
When drugs are circulating throughout the body to reach the brain they must past this barrier?
Blood-Brain Barrier
How can psychoactive drugs cross the blood brain barrier?
They can cross because they are fat soluble, the more fat soluble the faster it crosses
A drug is broken down into fragments called?
Metabolites-usually happens in the liver, later they are excreted by the kidneys
Factors that affect metabolic rates
1. Age
2. Race
3. Heredity
4. Gender
5. Health
6. Other Drugs
How many neurons are in the nervous system?"
100 billion nerve cells/ neurons
The nervous system is divided into what two major parts?
1. Central
2. Peripheral
What does the Central Nervous System consist of?
The brain and spinal cord
What does the brain do?
1. Monitors the body's internal and external environment
2. Regulates the body's internal environment
3. Controls muscle movement, memory, emotions, and decision-making
4. Produces personality and self-awareness
What does the spinal cord do?
Contains nerve fiber bundles carrying information to and from the brain
Where does the peripheral nervous system consist of?
bundles of nerve cell axons called nerve f ibers
Two type of PNS fibers?
1. Somatic Fibers
2. Autonomic Fibers
What do somatic fibers do?
1. Control voluntary movement and conscious sensations
2. Motor nerves exit the spinal cord and innervate skeletal muscles
3. Sensory nerves from the body's sensory organs enter the spinal cord
What do autonomic fibers do?
1. Control involuntary movement and unconscious sensation
2. Regulates blood circulation, digestion, and respiration
3. Motor nerves exit the spinal cord and innervate the cardiac muscles of the heart and the smooth muscles of blood vessels, organs and glands
4. Sensory nerves from the body's internal sense organs enter the spinal cord
5. Mediate physical side effects of psychoactive drugs
The term "new brain" refers to?
cerebral cortex
What does the cerebral cortex do?
Contains specialized regions that generate language, conscious thoughts, and self-awareness

Controls complex functions such as music, art, logic and mathematics
What does the old brain do?
Consists of structures and circuits deep below the cerebral cortex

Controls craving such as thirst, hunger, lust, and the basic desire to feel pleasure and avoid pain

Records survival memories of finding food, water, shelter, or of avoiding danger from predators and infection

Contains the reward/reinforcement circuit
What does the reward/reinforcement circuit do?
Contains the nucleus accumbens, amydala and lateral hypothalamus

Activated when behavior promotes survival and begins to satisfy cravings and basic desires

Produces an unconscious desire to repeat the behavior until the cravings or desires are satisfied
What type of drugs activates the reward/reinforcement circuit?
habit forming psychoactive drugs
What happens to an addict's reward/reinforcement circuit?
Their "Off-Switch" is broken, so they never feel like they have enough
This is called the building blocks of the nervous system?
nerve cells or neurons
Neurons are composed of what four structures?
1. Cell Body
2. Dendrites
3. Axon
4. Axon Terminals
This forms the input side of a neuron?
Dendrites
Dendrites have receptors that respond to?
Chemicals or neurotransmitters
This contains packages (vesicles) of the neurotransmitter a neuron produces?
axon terminals
When electrical impulses reach the axon terminals, a vesicle of neurotransmitter is released into the?
Synapse
This is the output side of a neuron?
Axon terminals
These type of neurotransmitters are important in local, short distance communication?
1. Glutamate
2. GABA
This type of neurotransmitters always excite other neurons?
Glutamate
This type of neurotransmitter always inhibits other neurons?
GABAergic neurons aka GABA
These type of neurotransmitters are important in diffusing modulation of brain activity?
1. Acetylcholine
2. Dopamine
3. Norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline)
4. Serotonin
5. Endorphins
6. Substance P
7. Endocannabinoids:
How do psychoactive drugs produce intoxication?
When the drug molecules gain access to the brain, they temporarily alter this communication at synapses
3 Physiological Responses to Drugs
1. Tolerance
2. Tissue Dependence
3. Withdrawal
Types of Tolerance
1. Dispositional tolerance
2. Pharmacodynamic tolerance
3. Behavioral tolerance
4. Reverse Tolerance
5. Acute Tolerance
6. Select Tolerance
Dispositional tolerance
the liver speeds up the disposal (metabolism) of the drug
Pharmacodynamic tolerance
nerve cells become less sensitive to the drug when receptors are removed from the postsynaptic membrane
Behavioral tolerance
the person learns to compensate for (or hide) the effects of intoxication.
Reverse Tolerance
increasing sensitivity to a drug as tissues degenerate. An example would be an alcoholic getting very drunk on two drinks because their liver is damaged.
Acute tolerance
almost instantaneous tolerance after one exposure to a drug
Select Tolerance
a person becomes tolerant to mood changes produced by a drug but not to other physical effects of that drug. For example, a heroin user keeps increasing their dose because they no longer feel euphoria, but they overdose because synapses controlling breathing are completely shut down by such high doses
Tissue Dependence
the brain needs the drug molecule to carry out normal functions
3 types of withdrawel
1. Non-purposive withdrawal
2. purposive withdrawal
3. Protracted withdrawal
Non-purposive withdrawal
actual physical symptoms that occur when drug use ceases (sweating, goose bumps, diarrhea, tremors)
purposive withdrawal
faked withdrawal symptoms or psychosomatic withdrawal symptoms (neurotic)
Protracted withdrawal
recurrence of withdrawal symptoms after a person has already detoxified, often causing craving for a drug which results in relapse
6 levels of use
1. Abstinence.
2. Experimentation
3. Social/recreational
4. Habituation
5. Abuse
6. Addiction
Abstinence.
Person uses a psychoactive drug only by accident
Experimentation
Person tries a drug out of curiosity a few times if it is offered
Social/recreational
Person seeks out a known drug for known effects on certain occasions, but a set pattern or schedule of use is not established
Habituation
Person has a definite pattern of drug use, whether it is every day or every weekend.
Abuse
Drug abuse is defined as the continued use of the drug despite negative consequences.
Addiction
Person spends most of their time either using, getting, or thinking about the drug. Often they deny there is a problem and claim they can stop anytime they want, but they can no longer control their drug use.
Addictive Disease model
Theory of Addiction-addiction is a consequence of genetic irregularities
Behavioral/environmental model
Theory of Addiction-Addiction as a result of stressful environmental conditions or living in an environment where drug use is accepted
Academic Model
Theory of Addiction-level of drug use itself leads to addiction
The Diathesis-Stress Model of Addiction
Combines all three theories. A diathesis is "a constitutional predisposition or vulnerability to develop a certain disorder under certain conditions."
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